The 9^th May 2011 episode of Monday Night Raw starts with Alberto Del Rio being introduced by Ricardo Rodriguez and making his way to the ring. Del Rio talks about how his destiny to become the World Heavyweight Champion was stolen by Edge, but that destiny can be delayed but not stop.

He says that he doesn’t understand why so much time was wasted last week on The Rock, when it should have been used to celebrate his own arrival at Raw. Del Rio says that the WWE Champion is John Cena, and that there is nobody better than him, so the man who should face Cena is (with Rodriguez finishing the sentence) Alberto Del Rio.

Rey Mysterio’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring, he says that Del Rio is no more worthy of a championship match than he is, as they were both drafted from SmackDown!, he says that Del Rio’s destiny isn’t to be a champion or the greatest of the great, but the personal ring announcer of Ricardo Rodriguez (which Rodriguez has a smile on his face about until Del Rio turns to him).

Mysterio challenges Del Rio to a match later on to determine the number one contender, to which Del Rio comments that if by “earning” he means “beating him for the thousandth time”, then he’s here, but The Miz’s music then hits and he makes his way to the ring with Alex Riley.

The Miz keeps asking “really?” before he says that he knows things like this happened on SmackDown! thanks to Teddy Long’s incompetence, but it isn’t different on Raw where it is his show.

He says that the WWE Championship is his title, and if it wasn’t for the staggering incompetence from his personal assistant last week, he would be standing there as still the WWE Champion.

Del Rio says that he didn’t get the job done, so now he goes to the back of the line, but The Miz refutes this and says that he did get the job done, but that the referee was prejudiced and reversed the decision, before he claims that he had no prior knowledge of what Riley was going to do and that he only used the title on Cena before Cena could use it on him, so he wants a legitimate rematch.

R-Truth makes his way down to the ring after saying that the truth has set him free, and after he comments on how they can’t get along, but while they are spilling hate, he’ll spill some of his own. He talks about hating hospital food, giving reasons why before he says that someone who is eating hospital food right now is John Morrison after his attack last week as he then rolls footage of it.

Turning his attention to those in the ring, he says that he has no problem making sure that any of them are hooked up to the same IV and sharing the same bedpan, and it doesn’t matter if they are some pretty-boy from LA (then calling The Miz “Kermit”), a superhero wannabe from San Diego (then calling Mysterio “bottle-nose”), and it doesn’t matter if they are some pompous Mexican fence-jumper (then calling Del Rio “liver lips”).

Truth says that he’s not waiting in line like he did the last ten years, if you kick his dog then he’ll kick your cat, and the only one who’s going to face the lily-white John Cena is him.

Michael Cole receives an email from the Anonymous Raw General Manager on his iPad, and he says that despite the compelling arguments, he finds only three who deserve a shot at the WWE Championship, so later on there will be a triple threat match to determine who will face Cena for the title at Over The Limit.

The GM agrees with The Miz’s assessment, so he’s in. He says that Del Rio is the crown-jewel of the WWE Draft, so he is in too, but as for the third is by virtue of his victory last week, Rey Mysterio. Truth isn’t very happy about this and complains that he is better than every one of them, especially Mysterio. Mysterio says that for once he is agreeing with the GM, so that’s “what’s up”, that’s “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”.

While R-Truth leaves, The Miz says to listen to him very carefully, and that he doesn’t care what they did or didn’t accomplish on SmackDown!, they are day-labourers, chump-change and bench-warmers as the star of the show, entire WWE Universe, and next WWE Champion is- Ricardo Rodriguez interrupts and finishes the sentence with “Albertoooooo Del Rrrrrrioooooo!”

Alex Riley attacks Del Rio but takes a dropkick from Rodriguez for his trouble, but The Miz then takes Rodriguez down until Del Rio sends both himself and The Miz over top rope with a clothesline, but Mysterio has the last word when he dives out of the ring to take out Del Rio before re-entering the ring and celebrating.

Next, The Bella Twins take on Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly in a tag team match which sees Kelly get the victory after she counters the small-package attempt into one of her own to get the 3-count. Afterwards, Kharma’s music hits and she makes her way to the ring, where The Bella Twins take the opportunity to run around it and leave, as she sets her sights on Eve and Kelly.

Eve attempts to attack Kharma when she’s not expecting it, but ends up receiving a clothesline for her trouble. Kelly exits the ring and runs away up the ramp when Kharma starts to pursue, so Kharma returns her attention to Eve and hits her with the double-underhook facebuster before standing tall over her.

Now, Mason Ryan (accompanied by CM Punk) is pitted against Kane (accompanied by The Big Show) in a match which sees the match end in a disqualification for Ryan when David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty of The New Nexus try to attack but end up being thrown back out of the ring by The Big Show and Kane.

Ryan tries to attack both of them when their attention is diverted, but instead falls to a double chokeslam, after which The Big Show and Kane celebrate in the ring and then leave with Kane’s pyro and music.

Next up, Santino Marella goes against Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by Vickie Guerrero) in a match which sees Ziggler get the victory when he hits the Zig-Zag for the 3-count.

After a video recapping the events of SmackDown! involving Christian and Randy Orton (click here for our SmackDown! report), we go backstage where Scott Stanford approaches R-Truth to interview him.

R-Truth says that it’s a conspiracy, and that he is getting letters from parents asking him to sing “What’s Up?” but that he’s going to do things on his own terms, no more and “that’s the truth”. Elsewhere backstage, Cena and Zack Ryder are shown fist-pumping before Cena starts walking down the halls.

After a video recapping the events of the match last week between The Miz and John Cena, we see The Miz and Alex Riley backstage where Riley explains that he didn’t realise that the hand he raised was the one holding the WWE Championship, and apologises to The Miz.

The Miz calls him an amoeba, and then a troglodyte and stupid as Riley continues to apologise, and he says that he doesn’t even know why he allows him in his presence. Riley says that he’s going to make it up to him, and when The Miz asks how, he says that he’ll show him and to watch this.

Riley makes his way to the ring and says that he knows what the crowd think about him, but he doesn’t care, as the only person in his life that he cares about is The Miz. He says that he’s going to prove it to him right now as he’s challenging John Cena to a match, and he attempts to goad Cena into it in his anger and his challenge is answered when Cena makes his way to the ring and Justin Roberts announces it as a match.

The match ends with Cena giving Riley an Attitude Adjustment twice before forcing Riley to tap out to the STF, as The Miz watches on from the ramp.

Next, Michael Cole is in the ring and he announces that he has decided to retire as an in-ring competitor, and the only undefeated one at that, and when he finally goes into the WWE Hall Of Fame, he wants to be inducted as a dual broadcaster and in-ring competitor.

Jerry “The King” Lawler grabs a microphone and tells Cole to hang on a second, as Cole reminds him of the GM’s orders that he cannot put his hands on him as they still stand. Lawler says that thankfully that didn’t apply to The Rock last week as he rolls the footage of Cole being hit with a Rock Bottom and The People’s Elbow.

Lawler says that if the day were to ever come where Cole was inducted to the Hall Of Fame, then life as we know it would cease to exist, but he suggests that there may be a way – if Cole was to defeat him in a match, then Lawler would personally induct him into the Hall Of Fame and give him his Hall Of Fame ring.

Cole declines, and he then exits the ring and enters the Cole Mine before standing upon the table in it and telling Lawler that he couldn’t let him retire in peace. Cole complains about the people of Tennessee and says that Lawler can’t let it go that he lost, and says that no matter what, he couldn’t change his mind as Cole decided the day before, which was Mother’s Day.

Cole says that there is nothing better to do on that day then spend the day with his mother, and asks what Lawler did, before sarcastically apologising and saying that it must have slipped his mind that Lawler’s mother passed away in February.

That is the last straw for Lawler as he tries to go after Cole, but Jack Swagger drags him away from it and sends him into the ring post.

After a video of the “be a STAR” campaign, Jack Swagger takes on Kofi Kingston in a match for the United States Championship which sees Kingston hit Trouble In Paradise to retain the title, thanks to the momentary distraction provided by Jerry “The King” Lawler’s presence.

Afterwards, Lawler sends Swagger over the barricade before approaching the Cole Mine and attempting to enter. He isn’t able to, but he is able to grab a hold of Cole’s tie through the gap and pull his face repeatedly into the glass and also choke him somewhat.

Swagger helps Cole out of the Cole Mine and says that Lawler has done it now and he’s now fired, but Lawler says that he never touched Cole, only his tie. Swagger says that Lawler just made Cole a first-ballot Hall Of Famer, as on behalf of Michael Cole he accepts the match – though Cole is left to ask why on Earth Swagger accepted the match.

After a video of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, it’s time for the triple threat match between Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, and The Miz to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship.

Thanks to Alex Riley pulling Del Rio out of the ring to break the pin and as a result also distracting Mysterio, The Miz rolls up Mysterio and gets the 3-count to win the match. Afterwards when Riley and The Miz are celebrating at the top of the ramp, John Cena’s music hits and he makes his way out onto the stage.

Cena says that he’s there to congratulate him, just like he did at WrestleMania, with no excuses – unlike every time The Miz loses a match – but there will be no excuses as there will be no count-outs, disqualifications, pinfalls, or submissions, as they will face each other in an I Quit match.

Back in the ring, R-Truth attacks Rey Mysterio and hits him with Paydirt before yelling that “that’s what’s up” as Raw goes off the air.